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Role plays. Flight simulators. Sports scrimmages. Computer games. Wargames. Erector sets. Group challenges. Acting workshops. Moot courts. These great learning experiences have a few things in common. They are all “Learning to do.” And they all get us to Short Sims. MORE
If you’re just starting the process of selecting and implementing a new Learning Management System (LMS), the process can feel a little overwhelming. This is especially true for organizations who don’t currently have an LMS and are starting completely from scratch. MORE
PART 3 of 4: What Do You Want Learners to DO? Recap. Here’s a quick recap of the first two parts of this ‘Challenge’ blog series: 1. THE CHALLENGE: The company has received low grades from their clients for responsiveness to callers whose calls should be escalated. Call center reps aren’t escalating calls to supervisors at the appropriate times. Read the full first post ). MORE
A color-coded branching scenario flowchart shows you the overall structure of a branching scenario at a glance. I use Twine to create branching scenarios. In the default interface and formats, passages are all the same color. MORE
This week, I was originally scheduled to be at the Learning Solutions Conference in Orlando. The eLearning Guild wisely canceled that conference due to the pandemic. I’m sad to miss seeing so many folks, but it was absolutely the right choice for the Guild to cancel and keep everyone safe. MORE
…and what’s most important to fix? I was a co-conspirator on the Serious eLearning Manifesto , and we identified 8 values that separated typical elearning from serious elearning. However, I suspect that not all are as important, nor hard to fix. MORE
TalentLMS asked 11 folks in the learning and development world for tips for improving workplace training. Now that nearly everyone is a remote worker, these tips can help train remote employees. Many of the tips could apply to any workplace training though, not just elearning for remote workers. MORE
It’s that course again. You slaved over that course for months. You did a thorough task analysis, you consulted with SMEs, you chased down stakeholders. You action mapped, you prototyped, you iterated like no one has iterated before! MORE
PART 2 of 4: Determining the Business Goal. Client. Large financial services company with call centers across the United States. Recap. To refresh your memory about the challenger and the problem, read Design challenge – Part 1 of 4: Meet the Challenger. The first step in our challenge is to identify the business goal. What Is a Business Goal? A business goal describes the result we hope to achieve with our elearning solution; it’s the ‘What’s in it for me?’. MORE
A retina display (verbiage marketed by Apple) is one that has a high enough resolution that the user cannot discern an individual pixel when looking at it from a normal viewing distance. MORE
I recently heard a news story about the Ebola crisis where the expert being interviewed explained that most of the infections of healthcare workers occur not from faulty or missing protective equipment but from workers not following the correct procedures when they remove their gear. MORE
There’s a cool new elearning example on our website using interactive video. The video shows a customer looking for help in a hardware store. The learners’ task is to identify where service is lacking. At the end, the learner compares his/her responses with the expert responses. MORE
We pride ourselves at SmartBuilder Consulting on designing elearning that focuses on performance: helping learners do the right thing at the right time. MORE
It’s a good day in the world of instructional design when a client says, “We want your help making this boring training more interesting and interactive.” Even better is when they don’t just want interactivity, but meaningful interactivity. MORE
As a follow up on my last post about optimizing graphics , I want to address a few ideas concerning the best image format for elearning graphics. When you create graphics for a course, do you save all of the images in the same format? That isn’t uncommon. MORE
Have you ever thought about how graphics’ file sizes impact elearning courses? Think back to the last video you viewed that buffered while you watched it. Buffering can make a video difficult to follow. The same thing happens when learners wait for graphics to load in elearning. MORE
Many people, including us at SmartBuilder, are neck deep in the mobile scene with elearning. My experience has exposed many things that contribute to a positive experience on a mobile device. This post shares three things you can easily implement right away to improve the quality of the mobile experiences you’re creating. Size it right. Have you ever taken a course on a mobile device that didn’t quite fit on the screen? If you haven’t, take my word for it – it’s annoying and distracting. MORE
Whether you’re designing a course or giving learners study advice, don’t let these myths lead you astray. Many instructors get started in online education because they want to share their expertise with the world. MORE
You settle into your stadium seat, popcorn on lap and soda nestled in its holder. The previews roll, the music swells, and your favorite actors’ names appear in starring roles. You’ve anticipated this movie for quite awhile. The title zooms in then fades. MORE
Rance Greene’s new book, Instructional Story Design: Develop Stories that Train , provides a systematic process for creating stories for training. Even if you don’t consider yourself a storyteller, you can create stories to support learning with this book. Example stories. MORE
PART 1 of 4: Meet the Challenger. Client. Large financial services company with call centers across the United States. Challenge. For the past year, the company has received low call satisfaction ratings from their customers. MORE
We pride ourselves at SmartBuilder Consulting on designing elearning that focuses on performance: helping learners do the right thing at the right time. MORE
Instructional design jobs were often done remotely before the pandemic. Now that most of us are staying home, even more opportunities for remote instructional design and elearning work are available. My experience. As an independent consultant, I have worked from home full time since 2011. MORE
PART 4 of 4: Create Learning Activities That Work. Recap. Here’s a quick recap of the first three parts of this ‘Challenge’ blog series: 1. THE CHALLENGE: The company has received low grades from their clients for responsiveness to callers whose calls should be escalated. MORE
Have you ever wanted to allow your learners to collaborate or compete within a lesson? Well, thanks to the magic of xAPI and the power of SmartBuilder, now they can. I’ll share an example in a moment, but first, some quick background. MORE
I had the great pleasure of having an extended conversation with Keith Quinn for the SSSC (Scottish Social Services Council) Learncast. Recording this podcast on learning was genuinely a highlight of my week. MORE
One of the challenges of branching scenarios is that you can generate so many options and paths that it quickly becomes unwieldy. A branch and bottleneck scenario structure is one strategy for keeping the complexity manageable. Branch and Bottleneck. MORE
As I read online, I bookmark resources I find interesting and useful. I share these links periodically here on my blog. In this post, I share links on writing about unfamiliar subjects plus 3 different sets of instructional design competencies. Writing when you’re not a SME. MORE
This post is part of the Design Challenge series. If you need a refresher on the project we are discussing, look at Design Challenge #1 – Part 1 of 4: Meet Our First Challenger. MORE
This post is part of the Design Challenge series. If you need a refresher on our challenger or the project we are discussing, look at Design Challenge #1 – Part 1 of 4: Meet Our First Challenger. MORE
SmartBuilder
NOVEMBER 21, 2019
There’s a cool new elearning example on our website using interactive video. The video shows a customer looking for help in a hardware store. The learners’ task is to identify where service is lacking. At the end, the learner compares his/her responses with the expert responses.
SmartBuilder
JULY 24, 2018
PART 1 of 4: Meet the Challenger. Client. Large financial services company with call centers across the United States. Challenge. For the past year, the company has received low call satisfaction ratings from their customers.
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SmartBuilder
DECEMBER 7, 2018
Have you ever wanted to allow your learners to collaborate or compete within a lesson? Well, thanks to the magic of xAPI and the power of SmartBuilder, now they can. I’ll share an example in a moment, but first, some quick background.
SmartBuilder
OCTOBER 5, 2018
PART 4 of 4: Create Learning Activities That Work. Recap. Here’s a quick recap of the first three parts of this ‘Challenge’ blog series: 1. THE CHALLENGE: The company has received low grades from their clients for responsiveness to callers whose calls should be escalated.
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SmartBuilder
NOVEMBER 16, 2017
It’s that course again. You slaved over that course for months. You did a thorough task analysis, you consulted with SMEs, you chased down stakeholders. You action mapped, you prototyped, you iterated like no one has iterated before!
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SmartBuilder
JULY 9, 2017
We pride ourselves at SmartBuilder Consulting on designing elearning that focuses on performance: helping learners do the right thing at the right time.
SmartBuilder
SEPTEMBER 17, 2018
PART 3 of 4: What Do You Want Learners to DO? Recap. Here’s a quick recap of the first two parts of this ‘Challenge’ blog series: 1. THE CHALLENGE: The company has received low grades from their clients for responsiveness to callers whose calls should be escalated. Call center reps aren’t escalating calls to supervisors at the appropriate times. Read the full first post ).
SmartBuilder
AUGUST 17, 2018
PART 2 of 4: Determining the Business Goal. Client. Large financial services company with call centers across the United States. Recap. To refresh your memory about the challenger and the problem, read Design challenge – Part 1 of 4: Meet the Challenger. The first step in our challenge is to identify the business goal. What Is a Business Goal? A business goal describes the result we hope to achieve with our elearning solution; it’s the ‘What’s in it for me?’.
SmartBuilder
FEBRUARY 23, 2014
This post is part of the Design Challenge series. If you need a refresher on the project we are discussing, look at Design Challenge #1 – Part 1 of 4: Meet Our First Challenger.
Speaker: Sandi Lin & Linda Schwaber-Cohen
In this webinar, Skilljar CEO Sandi Lin will discuss learnings from their recent study, and share her insights on the state of Customer Education. They'll dig into key findings so you can benchmark against industry trends and understand how your strategy and metrics compare.
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SmartBuilder
AUGUST 19, 2015
It’s a good day in the world of instructional design when a client says, “We want your help making this boring training more interesting and interactive.” Even better is when they don’t just want interactivity, but meaningful interactivity.
SmartBuilder
SEPTEMBER 30, 2014
You settle into your stadium seat, popcorn on lap and soda nestled in its holder. The previews roll, the music swells, and your favorite actors’ names appear in starring roles. You’ve anticipated this movie for quite awhile. The title zooms in then fades.
SmartBuilder
MARCH 26, 2015
A retina display (verbiage marketed by Apple) is one that has a high enough resolution that the user cannot discern an individual pixel when looking at it from a normal viewing distance.
SmartBuilder
JUNE 26, 2014
Have you ever thought about how graphics’ file sizes impact elearning courses? Think back to the last video you viewed that buffered while you watched it. Buffering can make a video difficult to follow. The same thing happens when learners wait for graphics to load in elearning.
Advertisement
Need to go remote or move your training programs online? Download this guide to identify and overcome the biggest eLearning challenges so you can pick the perfect LMS without wasting time, money, and effort, even if you are just starting your eLearning journey.
SmartBuilder
FEBRUARY 6, 2015
I recently heard a news story about the Ebola crisis where the expert being interviewed explained that most of the infections of healthcare workers occur not from faulty or missing protective equipment but from workers not following the correct procedures when they remove their gear.
SmartBuilder
DECEMBER 5, 2013
This post is part of the Design Challenge series. If you need a refresher on our challenger or the project we are discussing, look at Design Challenge #1 – Part 1 of 4: Meet Our First Challenger.
SmartBuilder
NOVEMBER 18, 2014
Many people, including us at SmartBuilder, are neck deep in the mobile scene with elearning. My experience has exposed many things that contribute to a positive experience on a mobile device. This post shares three things you can easily implement right away to improve the quality of the mobile experiences you’re creating. Size it right. Have you ever taken a course on a mobile device that didn’t quite fit on the screen? If you haven’t, take my word for it – it’s annoying and distracting.
SmartBuilder
AUGUST 5, 2014
As a follow up on my last post about optimizing graphics , I want to address a few ideas concerning the best image format for elearning graphics. When you create graphics for a course, do you save all of the images in the same format? That isn’t uncommon.
Speaker: Skilljar Experts
The best onboarding programs have a super power: they’re constantly improving. Here at Skilljar, we’ve learned a thing or two about onboarding, both by crafting our own experience, and by collaborating with the best Customer Education professionals in the world. In our upcoming webinar, we’re going to share these learnings with you.
Experiencing eLearning
MAY 26, 2020
As I read online, I bookmark resources I find interesting and useful. I share these links periodically here on my blog. In this post, I share links on writing about unfamiliar subjects plus 3 different sets of instructional design competencies. Writing when you’re not a SME.
Experiencing eLearning
APRIL 28, 2020
I had the great pleasure of having an extended conversation with Keith Quinn for the SSSC (Scottish Social Services Council) Learncast. Recording this podcast on learning was genuinely a highlight of my week.
Experiencing eLearning
MAY 12, 2020
TalentLMS asked 11 folks in the learning and development world for tips for improving workplace training. Now that nearly everyone is a remote worker, these tips can help train remote employees. Many of the tips could apply to any workplace training though, not just elearning for remote workers.
Experiencing eLearning
NOVEMBER 5, 2019
One of the challenges of branching scenarios is that you can generate so many options and paths that it quickly becomes unwieldy. A branch and bottleneck scenario structure is one strategy for keeping the complexity manageable. Branch and Bottleneck.
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Remote learning is becoming more important than ever. Whether you’re scrambling to get your eLearning launched, or need to upgrade to meet increased demand, this guide will eliminate the guesswork so you can find your perfect LMS!
Experiencing eLearning
APRIL 14, 2020
Rance Greene’s new book, Instructional Story Design: Develop Stories that Train , provides a systematic process for creating stories for training. Even if you don’t consider yourself a storyteller, you can create stories to support learning with this book. Example stories.
Experiencing eLearning
MARCH 31, 2020
This week, I was originally scheduled to be at the Learning Solutions Conference in Orlando. The eLearning Guild wisely canceled that conference due to the pandemic. I’m sad to miss seeing so many folks, but it was absolutely the right choice for the Guild to cancel and keep everyone safe.
Experiencing eLearning
APRIL 21, 2020
Instructional design jobs were often done remotely before the pandemic. Now that most of us are staying home, even more opportunities for remote instructional design and elearning work are available. My experience. As an independent consultant, I have worked from home full time since 2011.
Experiencing eLearning
MAY 5, 2020
A color-coded branching scenario flowchart shows you the overall structure of a branching scenario at a glance. I use Twine to create branching scenarios. In the default interface and formats, passages are all the same color.
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Zero in on the best E-Learning software for your company. Get expert recommendations and pricing comparisons based on your specific needs.
Clark Quinn
MAY 26, 2020
…and what’s most important to fix? I was a co-conspirator on the Serious eLearning Manifesto , and we identified 8 values that separated typical elearning from serious elearning. However, I suspect that not all are as important, nor hard to fix.
Allen Interactions
MAY 27, 2020
Role plays. Flight simulators. Sports scrimmages. Computer games. Wargames. Erector sets. Group challenges. Acting workshops. Moot courts. These great learning experiences have a few things in common. They are all “Learning to do.” And they all get us to Short Sims.
LearnDash
APRIL 30, 2020
Whether you’re designing a course or giving learners study advice, don’t let these myths lead you astray. Many instructors get started in online education because they want to share their expertise with the world.
Experiencing eLearning
MAY 19, 2020
If you’re just starting the process of selecting and implementing a new Learning Management System (LMS), the process can feel a little overwhelming. This is especially true for organizations who don’t currently have an LMS and are starting completely from scratch.
Advertisement
Strengthen new employees and develop existing teams with Lessonly’s Employee Training Playbook.
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